The Biblical Path of Life

Tag: Renew

  • Confess, Do not Cover

    “He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.“

    Proverbs 28:13

    In most people’s eyes, King David was a much bigger sinner than King Saul was. Saul chose to disobey God’s Word. David took another man’s wife and ordered the death of her husband in battle – premeditated murder. That sounds much worse to most people. However, according to God’s Word, both men were sinners before a Holy God. “2. God looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, that did seek God. 3. Every one of them is gone back: they are altogether become filthy; there is none that doeth good, no, not one” (Psalm 53:2-3). The penalty has not changed from the Old Testament to the New Testament. “For the wages of sin is death …” (Romans 6:23a).

    Why then was David considered the best king that Israel ever had when he was such a sinner? He understood the way a sinner must come before a Holy God; in true repentance.

    Remember when King Saul was confronted with his sin by Samuel. “Wherefore then didst thou not obey the voice of the LORD, but didst fly upon the spoil, and didst evil in the sight of the LORD?” (1 Samuel 15:19). What was Saul’s reply? “20. And Saul said unto Samuel, Yea, I have obeyed the voice of the LORD, and have gone the way which the LORD sent me … 21. But the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the chief of the things which should have been utterly destroyed, to sacrifice unto the LORD thy God in Gilgal” (1 Samuel 15:20-21). Notice he did not admit his sin. Instead, he justified his sin with his own words. Samuel reminded Saul what God requires, not what man thinks God requires. “22. And Samuel said, Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams. 23. For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, he hath also rejected thee from being king” (1 Samuel 15:22-23). Saul thought God expected a sacrifice. Samuel declared God required obedience to His Word, not rebellion. Saul stubbornly fulfilled his own will, not God’s. When Samuel declared God rejected Saul from being king, Saul admitted he had sinned. Nevertheless, Saul still refused to submit to God and repent. Instead, he asked Samuel to “keep up appearances.” “Then he said, I have sinned: yet honour me now, I pray thee, before the elders of my people, and before Israel, and turn again with me, that I may worship the LORD thy God” (1 Samuel 15:30). Saul declared he would worship “the LORD thy God.” Saul revealed his attitude toward God.

    Recall what Samuel told King Saul, even before his kinship ended. “But now thy kingdom shall not continue: the LORD hath sought him a man after his own heart, and the LORD hath commanded him to be captain over his people, because thou hast not kept that which the LORD commanded thee” (1 Samuel 13:14). God had chosen a young shepherd named David. Before Samuel anointed David, God told him “… for the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7b).

    After David’s “great” sin, Nathan the prophet came to him and confronted him with, “Thou art the man” (see 2 Samuel 12:7). Immediately, “And David said unto Nathan, I have sinned against the LORD. And Nathan said unto David, The LORD also hath put away thy sin; thou shalt not die” (2 Samuel 12:13). When David was rebuked because of sin, he immediatly repented. Psalm 51 is a heartfelt prayer from David’s heart revealing this repentance. “2. Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. 3. For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me. 4. Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight …” (Psalm 51:2-4a). David understood what God expected. “16. For thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give it: thou delightest not in burnt offering. 17. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise” (Psalm 51:16-17). David recognized that God sees the heart.

    In light of these things, David was the greatest king that Israel had, not because he was sinless, but because he understood how a sinful man must approach a Holy God – with complete repentance and a change of heart. He wanted his heart cleansed. “Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me” (Psalm 51:10).

    One can clearly see through King Saul and King David the following verse revealed: “He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy” (Proverbs 28:13).

    Are you like King Saul who covered his sin and did not prosper?

    Or,

    Are you like King David who forsook his sin, and God showed mercy upon him?

  • Grieve not the Spirit

    “And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.”

    Ephesians 4:30

    Saul was king of Israel. God’s Spirit was upon him, yet Saul chose to sin against God. When confronted with that sin, Saul did not repent (see 1 Samuel 13 and 15). Instead, he chose to continue in that sin. God removed His spirit from King Saul. In its place, God allowed an evil spirit to trouble King Saul (see 2 Samuel 16:14). God sent Samuel to anoint a young man, David, to become the next king of Israel. “Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the midst of his brethren: and the Spirit of the LORD came upon David from that day forward …” (1 Samuel 16:13).

    God had chosen David. “But the LORD said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7). Later, David became the next king of Israel. God’s Spirit was with David. When David willfully sinned, he was confronted with that sin. Nathan the prophet told David a story of one who had done wrong. David declared that the man should die for his sin (see 2 Samuel 12:1-6). “And Nathan said to David, Thou art the man …” (2 Samuel 7a). David’s response? “And David said unto Nathan, I have sinned against the LORD. And Nathan said unto David, The LORD also hath put away thy sin; thou shalt not die” (2 Samuel 12:13). We should recognize that David immediately repented. He wrote Psalm 51 revealing his heart as he sought repentance from God. It would be good to read the entire Psalm, but especially consider the following: “1. Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions. 2. Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. 3. For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me. 4. Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight … 7. Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow … 9. Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities. 10. Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. 11. Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me. 12. Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit. 13. Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee” (Psalm 51:1-4, 7, 9-13).

    David had witnessed what happened in King Saul’s life when God’s Spirit was removed, and an evil spirit troubled King Saul. David did not want God to remove His Spirit from him. He not only prayed for forgiveness, but also to wash him thoroughly, cleanse him, and blot out his sin. However, more than that, David asked God to create in him a clean heart and renew a right spirit within him. He wanted the joy of his salvation restored. When this happened, David would be in a position to teach others of the forgiveness of God, showing them the way to be converted to God. What an amazing prayer!

    Today, we understand that when one becomes a Christian, God’s Spirit is given and never taken away (see 2 Corinthians 1:21-22). We are sealed unto the day of redemption. “And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption” (Ephesians 4:30). However, did you notice that we are not to grieve the Holy Spirit? Grieve means “to cause to grieve, make sorrowful”. Ephesians chapter four lists many things Christians are to keep out of their lives. Notice the listing of sin, beginning with the instruction, “that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk” (see Ephesians 4:17-22). It then proceeds to teach, “And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness” (Ephesians 17:24). It gives more instructions for Christians (see Ephesians 17:23-29) before the imperative to “grieve not the holy Spirit”. When a Christian chooses to willfully sin, it is then that the Holy Spirit is grieved (caused to be grieved, made sorrowful). We are encouraged to refrain from sin. However, when we do sin (because we are a sinful people living in a sinful world), we should learn by example. King Saul did not repent, choosing instead to remain in his sin. On the other hand, after David was convicted of his sin, he immediately repented and prayed to God. David turned from that sin, with a changed heart, back to God. Although there were consequences for David’s sin, God did not turn from David or remove His hand from David’s life. David became the greatest king that Israel ever had. “And when he had removed him (King Saul), he raised up unto them David to be their king; to whom also he gave testimony, and said, I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after mine own heart, which shall fulfil all my will”(Acts 13:22). 

    Have you chosen to willfully sin, grieving the Holy Spirit?

    Or

    Have you “put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness”?

    http://biblicalpath.com/index.php/how-to-be-saved/